Friday, September 5, 2008

Caracas: A Little Arepas Haven (or Heaven)

Arepas: Savory Handheld South American Wonders

After seeing a just horrible movie, ( I mean, if I didn’t pay soo much, I would have left…I won’t disclose the title---I am not here to bad mouth movies), I needed to redeem the evening by gorging on some beloved comfort food at one of my old haunts Caracas, in the east village. Despite its quaint and intimate size, Caracas can' be missed. Just look for the hoards of arepas lovers munching and waiting outside. Caracas specializes in Arepas, a corn based sandwich stuffed with lots of different goodies such as shredded beef, avocado and cheese. They are simply delicious. My favorite is the de Pabellon, which is shredded beef, queso fresco, black beans and fried plantains. The sweet and savory play very well together and the shredded beef is oh so tender and moist. I have tried a few others which all seem to lack luster in comparison. The chicken is a little dry, but that shouldn’t deter you from trying the other vast combinations.The guacamole is superb, highly seasoned with a secret combo of herbs and vinegar served with a side of chips (yucca, taro and other south American tubers) sliced thinly, fried perfectly, and sprinkled with salt. In addition, they have the assortment of aqua frescas and loads of south of the border beer.

Heyyyy.I'm going to be in your area in a few days.This place sound great. I've never had arepas before. I think I'd like the one with plantains and queso fresco. Queso fresco is my new favorite cheese. I don't know why it took me so long to buy it.